RESUMO
Objective To establish a combinative method based on HPLC fingerprint, multi-component assay, and pattern recognition for quality evaluation of Sparganii Rhizoma. Methods The similarity analyzed with “Similarity Evaluation System for Chromatographic Fingerprint of Chinese Materia Medica 2004A”, Nine kinds of components were identified by comparison with reference substances and their content in samples were determined and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were performed by SPSS 20.0. Results There were 12 common peaks, and the similarity degrees of 12 batches of samples were more than 0.800, which showed that all the samples from different origins were of good consistency. Nine of them were identified as 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, vanillic acid, ferulic acid, p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillin, protocatechuic acid, p-coumaric acid, and isoferulic acid; The samples were divided into four clusters by HCA. The result of PCA showed, the quality of samples could be evaluated basically. According to the composite score, the quality of Sparganii Rhizoma from different origins, Henan Xinxiang, Jiangsu Zhenjiang, Hebei Cangzhou, Hunan Yueyang, Zhejiang Jinhua, and Henan Zhengzhou were better than others. There was a correlation between the scores of the main components of the 12 batches of decoction pieces and the results of the content determination. Conclusion The method is simple, reproducible, and reliable, it can be used for quality control and evaluation of Sparganii Rhizoma from different origins.